


Heart and Soul

by Pebblesong7



Series: One Chicago Daemons AU [2]
Category: Chicago Fire, Chicago PD (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Bisexuality, F/M, Hurt Kelly Severide, Implied Sexual Content, Kelly Severide has bad parents, Kelly's daemon is a rabbit for reasons, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pansexual Character, Suicidal Thoughts, couldn't resist a very potter musical reference at the end, right things just not in the right order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:28:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29116764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pebblesong7/pseuds/Pebblesong7
Summary: A look into Kelly Severide's life
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Erin Lindsay, Jay Halstead/Kelly Severide, Kelly Severide/Original Character(s), Kelly Severide/Original Female Character(s), Matthew Casey & Andrew "Andy" Darden & Kelly Severide, Matthew Casey/Gabriela Dawson, Matthew Casey/Hallie Thomas, Matthew Casey/Kelly Severide, Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Series: One Chicago Daemons AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130984
Kudos: 12





	Heart and Soul

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not great at remembering the exact order of events in the series so you might have to ignore some of the non-canon compliant stuff.

When Kelly was younger, he and Andy had spent most of their time pretending to be firefighters. From day one, Kelly knew it was the job for him. If you asked his mother, she would have said it was so he could be like his father, and she was probably right, but for Kelly and Andy it had been the only option for them. Well, for Kelly at least. Kelly and his daemon, Laurens, had spent their whole lives mimicking their father. Benny and Halejenjo were the poster picture for firefighting, the bald eagle was certainly admired in the force. Laurens had never been the best flier when she tried to be an eagle, they had driven their mother mad having to take them to A&E every other day, eventually she had stopped even bothering and they had to make their own way there. Pretty soon after that they decided that perhaps flying wasn’t going to be their way in. 

Andy and Alexei were the first to settle, and Alexei made one hell of a robin.   
“I think the red suits me.” The little bird had argued, and Andy was the type of person who was perfectly happy with that answer. Kelly thought so too, as long as his best friend was happy, he was happy. He considered himself to be pretty accepting of most things, that was until Laurens settled. 

The rabbits nose quivered, a brown muzzle gently tapering into a paler, almost white colour for the rest of her body. Her ears flopped down beside her big dark eyes and soft fur covered every inch of her body. Kelly just stared for a moment, trying to take in what he was seeing.   
“I’m sorry Kelly, this just feels right.” Kelly kept on staring. “Are you… ok with this?”   
“I… think so? This wasn’t… I can't say that I expected this,” he paused as horror overtook him. “Oh God what’s dad gonna say?”  
“He will still love us.” Laurens hoped that she sounded more sure than she felt, but based on Kelly’s expression it wasn’t working. They sat in silence for a moment. “My fur is very soft.”   
“It does look like it.”  
“You want to feel it don’t you.”  
“That's what she said, and also yes absolutely.”  
“You are a trainwreck Kelly.”

Benny had not been thrilled with them to say the least, Kelly could tell he was even slightly ashamed of him. He left again pretty soon after that. Kelly had sobbed into Laurens fur all night, they didn’t speak for the next three days after they got the news. 

When they both got into the academy it was the best day of Kelly’s life. April had been so delighted for him too, her cheetah daemon Dienene prancing around him in joy. Andy was much more lighthearted but Kelly was determined to be the best that he could be, so it was no surprise when Andy came over one day for lunch dragging with him the human equivalent of a kicked puppy. Kelly tried his best but he struggled to connect with Casey for a while, he didn’t even see his daemon for a long time. It wasn’t until they both got locked out of Andy’s flat after a night out gone wrong that they actually got the chance to bond. 

“My mum killed my dad.”  
“Oh… sorry.”  
“I just… I wanted to say thank you. You and Andy have been so kind to me, the least I can do is be open with you.” Matt looked so scared, as though he expected Kelly to be angry with him. Instead he pulled the handsome man gently into a hug.   
“I’m honoured that you could tell me.” He paused for a moment. “Is that a bird?”  
“Oh yeah sorry you haven’t met yet. This is my daemon Lowie, I just call him Low.” The goldcrest was tucked into Casey’s hood. Laurens dabbed at Kelly’s leg until he picked her up. Both men gasped when she reached out and gently touched Matt’s cheek with a soft paw.   
“Oh that felt weird.” Casey looked stricken for a moment before Kelly clarified. “In a good way! Sorry she's never done that before.” Casey blushed and Kelly knew he was doing the same. 

After that the trio were thick as thieves, if you saw one another would not be far behind. Casey was actually really funny when you got to know him, he had a certain spark in his eye that made Kelly’s heart flutter. He wasn’t too sure how to feel when Casey got his first girlfriend, he supposed it was ok. Laurens was quieter for a few days after that, she would lie on his chest whilst they slept and never mentioned it when Kelly wasn't asleep. Soon enough they had been able to pass all their tests, and they were officially firefighters. Then along game the station. 

Wallace Boden seemed like a very decent man, even if at first he didn’t recognise Kelly. You couldn’t blame him, he had only seen him once or twice as a kid, when Benny thought his mother was able to handle a guest. If he noticed anything untoward the chief was polite enough to not mention it. An impressive grey heron peered over the older man’s shoulder, Boden introducing him as Arthur. Arthur seemed to take great interest in Laurens, after all most firefighters had bird daemons. It was almost unheard of for a rabbit to be in the department, especially not a Holland lop like her. It wasn’t until Casey introduced them by name that Boden’s face lit up with realisation.   
“Well, I shouldn't be surprised that Benny’s son would turn out just as well as his father.” Kelly just smiled and shook his hand. Boden didn’t need to know that he hadn’t seen Benny in years. 

Kelly was able to ignore the chatter of laughter from the rest of the station when he walked in with an adorable bunny hopping along next to him, so long as Casey was with him. Laurens held herself with pride, meeting the eyes of every person who dared make a sound. It was an older man with grey hair and sparkling eyes who introduced himself first.   
“Hi, you must be the new kids. I’m Herrman, and this is Stroli.” The kangaroo was taller than her human, with legs that could definitely kill a man with very little thought. Despite that she had a friendly glimmer in her eye, and looked almost protectively at the new recruits.   
“It's nice to meet you, I’m Severide, and this is Laurens.” Casey and Andy similarly introduced themselves, and Severide carefully skirted around his first name. It was bad enough getting stared at for his daemon let alone having a stereotypically feminine name.   
Introductions were easier after that, Mouch was especially welcoming toward them. So long as you didn’t sit in his or Luphi’s spots on the couch, you didn’t have to worry about being throttled by a mallard duck. It was certainly quite nerve racking at first, but slowly they began to feel at home, especially when Kelly was promoted to Squad. The youngest ever, they said. In the meantime, as Casey moved on with Hallie, Kelly was satisfied making his way through all the women, and sometimes men, in Chicago.   
“What do you think we are?” Laurens asked one night, after their latest partner had fallen asleep, his gentle snores softly filling the room.   
“Does it really matter?”  
“No, I suppose not. As long as we are happy right?”  
“Yeah, as long as we are happy.”

When Andy died, Kelly felt more lost than he had ever thought possible. The pain in his neck was nothing compared to the despair in his heart. Laurens sometimes woke up at night screaming, but it was only fair. Kelly did the same. Casey hated him, he was sure, and perhaps he deserved it. If he had been faster his best friend would still be here, maybe this was all what he deserved. They snapped at other people now, especially Casey. Severide counted himself lucky that he never got an STD when he stopped caring, though on some days he wondered whether it would be worth it to get the chance to see Andy again. He held Laurens all night on the day he took an old gentleman’s final words to his wife, he couldn’t help but feel that it was another failure on his back. He was sure that either his heart or his will would give out, until Casey finally spoke to him again, and it didn’t become an argument. Perhaps things weren’t quite so bad anymore. 

The room was silent aside from their rapid breathing. Casey ran a hand over Kelly’s abs gently, and Kelly’s heart thumped against his chest at the sensation.   
“So that's why you get all the girls.” Kelly couldn’t contain a breathy laugh at that, and Casey’s eyes glimmered in the faint moonlight. Low and Laurens were curled up together at the end of the bed, and Kelly felt truly content for the first time in… well as long as he could remember. Casey hadn't been the same since Hallie died, he had sat there covered in the golden dust of her Shetland pony until Kelly had been able to coax him into the showers. It had been a few months since then, but he still grieved for his friend everyday. He reached over to gently stroke Matt’s face.   
“So… up for round two?”

Kelly had been happy for his friend when Dawson and he finally got together, he really was. Or at least as long as he told himself that he was. Matt deserved to be happy, and so did he. Stella made it easier, she made his heart flutter just as Casey used to, so he supposed that this was alright too. Laurens got on well with Almaria, the great grey owl was as magnificent as she was clever. After Benny died, it was Stella who pulled Laurens out of the wreckage of the fallen chimney. She later apologised for touching her without permission, but Kelly was determined to hear none of it. Almaria later brushed her beak against his arm at the hospital, returning the favour.

When he and Stella broke up, it wasn’t unexpected. He wasn’t happy with it but sometimes you just had to accept what came to you, and he and Laurens had bad breakup’s down to a practiced art form by now. That was, until a certain maned wolf padded into his life. 

“Your daemon just spoke to me.”  
“Oh for fu- sorry ignore Kit he likes to make people uncomfortable.” Jay was stunning when he laughed, all freckles and blue-green eyes. Kit was equally adorable according to Laurens, who seemed starstruck with the handsome wolf, gently dabbing at his nose with a soft paw. Kit delightedly dabbed back, much to Kelly’s amusement.   
“It's been a while Jay, how are things going with you and Erin?”  
“Er, not so good. She had to leave.” Jay had a measured calmness to his face, something Kelly was only too familiar with.   
“I’m sorry, Stella broke up with me too. Do you fancy going and getting a drink? I've heard that a new coffee shop opened up downtown. I'll pay.”  
“Well I’ve never been one to turn down a free coffee.”

Jay was an intense person to be around, but Kelly certainly enjoyed the excitement. The ex-ranger knew exactly how to make Kelly laugh, and the fact they didn’t work together was a bit of a bonus.

They were watching a David Attenborough documentary when Kit was the one to make the first move. He walked over to Kelly and placed a paw on his knee, and Kelly watched Jay with a certain air of caution, relieved to see the man looked only interested.   
“You know… i'm surprised it wasn’t Laurens to make the first move.” Jay let out a short chuckle, before he moved in to kiss Kelly, a gesture gladly returned. Kelly slid his hand onto Jay’s thigh, and could feel the brunets shudder of excitement, they moved to the bedroom pretty quickly after that. It was a lovely sight to wake up to in the morning.  
“I've been thinking, you should really move closer to me before you go to work.” Jay had a flirting smirk, and Kelly felt heat rolling in his stomach. He raised an eyebrow as seductively as he could manage.   
“And why’s that.”  
“You being over there is messing with the feng shui of the room.” Jay threw a pillow at his daemon. 

Things were going great for a while, but great can only last for so long. Kelly would stand by the fact it wasn’t Jay’s fault, PTSD is a horrible illness after all. He had been quite shocked to wake up to a night-terror, and despite Jay warning him about it beforehand, and in a moment of tired confusion he tried to wake him up. One black eye later he realised why Jay had begged him not to do that. Kelly had thought that he held the world record for unreasonable guilt, but apparently Jay was just as good at that. They had never been an official couple so to speak, but it was still hard on both of them to admit that perhaps they needed to take a break. It wasn’t even because of the night-terror ultimately, they could both admit that they would always put work first and that perhaps, as fun as it was, they weren't the best for each other. To Kelly’s relief, they were able to stay in contact afterwards, and he had to restrain himself from smacking Jay on the back of the head after he got shot chasing his fathers killer. 

Kit was watching Jay with a rare intensity, not even padding around the room like he normally would. Kelly almost felt like he was intruding, before the maned wolf noticed him at the doorway.   
“Kelly! Please, come in.” Kelly paced over to the side of the bed and planted a gentle kiss on Jay’s sleeping forehead. Laurens moved in solemn silence, clambering up onto the bed to rub her muzzle against Kit’s nose. They sat in the quiet for a moment, only interrupted by the regular beeping of the heart monitor. Eventually, Jay opened those beautiful blue eyes.   
“Morning sunshine,” Kelly tried to keep his tone light and the worry out of his voice, “We were starting to think you were going to sleep the day away.” Jay gave a shit eating grin.   
“I could never do that to you, and can you imagine the trouble Kit would get into? We still owe Will money for last time.” He sobered for a moment. “I’m sorry Kelly.”  
“It’s alright.”  
“No it isn't, but in my defence I was left unsupervised.” Despite the seriousness Kelly couldn’t help but smile.   
“I vote that we never do that again.”  
“Agreed.”

One positive to come out of all of this was that Stella’s near death experience, another thing that was making Severide convinced that his hair could in fact go greyer, made her bring up their old relationship. It wasn’t a hard decision for them to get back together. 

When Casey and Brett were becoming an item, it was irritatingly obvious to everyone except them. Lowie spent half his time fluttering around Sylvie’s stunning Queen Alexandria’s birdwing daemon, Neto, the other half preening his feathers to perfection. Laurens and Kelly would watch on with a gentle amusement.

“I'm glad to see him so happy, I was worried that after Dawson…” Laurens paused, lost in thought.   
“Me too. But we knew he would be ok, it takes far more than that to get him down.” The bunny ran a paw over her brown muzzle, hopping over to the cup of hot chocolate that Kelly had made the error of putting on the floor. They sat on the roof of the station, enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet as the sun set bringing an end to a beautiful summer day. A gentle breeze washed over the pair, bringing with it the pleasant aroma of the bakery that had opened up down the road.   
“We’re gonna be ok aren't we.” Laurens wiped the remnants of chocolate from her nose, using her powerful legs to jump onto Kelly’s lap and nudging the small box in his pocket holding the ring that Casey had helped him pick out.   
“We’re going to be wonderful Laurens.”


End file.
